1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, and more particularly, to a camera dedicated to a film feed type Patrone.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, a proposal has been made for a camera dedicated to a so-called film feed type Patrone of which a leader does not come out and which differs from a Patrone containing rolled film conformable to Japanese Industrial Standard JIS-135. In this kind of camera, a mechanism for rotating a Patrone axis in a feed direction is incorporated in a camera body.
However, according to the foregoing prior art, the incorporation of the mechanism for rotating the Patrone axis in the feed direction makes it a must to feed or rewind film by rotating the Patrone axis forwardly or reversely. For adopting a technique of rotating a take-up spool simultaneously with the rotation for film feed, a difference in rotating speed must be made between these rotations. For adopting a technique of alternately effecting the rotation for film feed and the rotation of the take-up spool, a planetary clutch mechanism must be included for the purpose of alternately effecting the rotations.
Consequently, the film feed drive mechanism for a camera becomes complex and the number of component parts of a camera increases. This results in a larger camera and higher cost.
In recent years, a film unit with a lens, in which photographic film and a strobe are placed in advance and which possesses the capability of simple photography, has been put on the market. Thanks to the film unit with a lens, even a person who does not carry a camera with him/her can enjoy photography readily. The film unit with a lens obviates the necessities of loading film, rewinding film after completion of photography, and unloading exposed film.
In this kind of camera, both a camera body and a built-in strobe unit are shielded by a housing. Electrodes of an AA battery for use in charging the strobe are wired by performing soldering (Refer to Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication Nos.1-57728 and 1-57738).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.1-93723 has disclosed an art of reminding a photographer to take back a battery, wherein a Patrone chamber and a strobe battery chamber are designed to share an opening.
In another art disclosed, a camera is provided with a strobe synchronization access port through which a strobe unit can be detachably connected to the camera (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.1-303420).
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No.4-50837 has disclosed an idea of putting a battery for supplying power to a strobe or the like in a core of a roll of unexposed film.
Recently, a camera dedicated to a Patrone having a feed function has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.3-84531.
With the tendency toward electronics-oriented cameras, more and more cameras are in need of a large-capacity power supply. In general, an AA battery is employed. The large size of this type of battery is one of the factors hindering materialization of more compact cameras.
After being exposed, a film unit with a lens is presented to a photo agent or a photo processing shop as it is. The photo processing shop first removes an internal camera from the housing of the film unit and then unloads a filmstrip from the camera. The filmstrip is then developed. The Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No.1-57728 and the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.1-93723 consider it a precondition to dispose of a used camera body. A battery for a built-in strobe that is an AA battery must therefore be disposed of irrespective of the frequency of flashing the strobe. This is waste of resources, resulting in an increase in price of a camera itself.
From this viewpoint, a camera body may be designed to be recycled. In this case, the interval of replacing a battery must be varied depending on the amount of use of a strobe or the number of exposed frames. This necessitates a battery cover through which a battery is replaced and a lock member for detachably locking a cover. Moreover, a means for preventing a battery from being loaded upside down is required. This leads to an increase in cost. Due to the necessity of replacing a battery, the location of a battery chamber becomes a bottleneck that must be cleared in designing a camera and laying out components. Moreover, a dry battery such as an AA battery cannot help but be employed in terms of availability. Restrictions are imposed even in the aspects of spaces and shapes.